Conway Rec Path cost doubles, putting project on hold

CONWAY — Phase 2 of the Conway Rec Path is in limbo now that the estimated cost of building it has doubled and selectmen refuse to sign off on a grant modification that the Mount Washington Valley Trails Association asked them to approve.

Phase 2 was to go from Cranmore through Whitaker Woods to Intervale.

Trails Association President Chris Meier said he learned just prior to the selectmen's meeting on Tuesday that the estimate to build Phase 2 has ballooned from $3.3 million to $5.6 million.

"We don't have that money," said Meier. "So, at this point that puts a pause on this project. We cannot raise that amount of money in the time frame that we would need to."

Asked about the increase, Josh McAllister of HEB Engineers said in an email Wednesday that it was "due to increased materials costs, and increased amount and length of boardwalk included in this phase to decrease impact to wetlands."

This pause also likely means the project loses the U.S. Economic Development Commission grant due to timing.

"We will probably have to raise the funds from somewhere else," said Meier.

The project was expected to be completed in 2027, but now the timeline has become murky at best.

Phase 2 of the Rec Path would start at the northern end of Phase 1 — the Cranmore trailhead — then extend to Old Bartlett Road and along the northern edge of Whitaker Woods. From there, it was planned to follow the Mountain Division railroad tracks used by the Conway Scenic Railroad up to Intervale Cross Road.

Earlier in Tuesday's meeting, selectmen seemed taken aback when asked to approve the EDA grant application. The application clarified breaking the Phase 2 project in two parts, with the first piece running from Cranmore to the edge of Whitaker Woods and the second starting at the railroad tracks.

Selectmen Mary Carey Seavey and Steve Porter expressed displeasure that the trails association didn't mention this phasing of the project to them months ago.

"The board's been taking an awful lot of heat because, quote, unquote, we're 'not transparent enough,' and we spent an awful lot of time over the past six months to try and be as transparent as possible," said Porter.

"It seems like we're playing cloak and dagger ... we're finding information out after the fact. When we signed an agreement, which I understand why we have to do it for the EDA grant application, but it wasn't even for the original grant application that we were informed about, because it's a different one, because you decided to phase the project."

Town Planner Ryan O'Connor said the town didn't fully understand the phasing concept when the EDA paperwork was reviewed the first time.

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In an effort to stick to the deadline that the grant timelines required, the project required phasing, according to Meier.

It appears that the U.S. Economic Development Commission is funding the portion of the path from Cranmore to the rail corridor at about $2.1 million. The town was a co-applicant for this grant. Selectmen's Vice Chair John Colbath signed this grant months ago, but EDA asked the town to have Mary Carey Seavey sign because she is the chair.

The Northern Border Regional Commission is to provide $1 million for the remainder of the project, from the start of the tracks near Whitaker Woods to Intervale. The Whitaker-to-Intervale section will take 12 months longer, and the feds didn't want to have two grants funding the same project, so over the summer, the project was split into two pieces, Meier said. HEB Engineers would represent both phases to the public, he said.

The NBRC has yet to approve the phasing, said Meier.

Earlier this month, critics of the rec path also said that the grant timing might have caused trees to be cleared in Whitaker Woods before getting the OK, and this would create an "embarrassing path to nowhere," according to Conway resident Mark Hounsell.

Porter said he agreed with that assessment.

"Sitting on the planning board, if I'm going to endorse something, I want to have a starting point and an end point, and I'm not going to get into schematics of trying to manipulate government dollars, taxpayer dollars or how we can get this started and worry about finishing it at a later date," said Porter.

Meier, who stressed that the trails association is the town's partner, asked selectmen to table the amended EDA grant application until the trails association can regroup. Porter instead called for a vote on signing the documents, and the selectmen voted 5-0 to refuse.

Selectman Ryan Shepard said, "The point is that this is now, I think, a good time to revisit what the rec path could be, how it could benefit this town and community, and perhaps be a bit more cost-effective," said Shepard.

Discussions regarding easements and the legality of paving portions of the path through Whitaker Woods were tabled.

The Sun asked Meier if Phase 2 could be shifted instead to run toward Fryeburg, Maine, or on Upper Saco Valley Land Trust property between Black Bear Village and Eagles Way.

"While both of these routes are on the longer-term plan, neither the federal grants nor the private donations could be used for either of these," said Meier.  "So either of these projects would be starting from scratch and would be a seven-to-10-year plan."

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